PfR: Days 6 and 7

It was a CRAZY weekend, so I didn't get to train much. I worked with the pups last night and tonight, though.

Maxwell has moved on to the second set of exercises in the protocol. He was flawless last night, not breaking once. I did, however, notice that he's reluctant to sit immediately when asked. I've started reinforcing the initial sit about 80% of the time as well as each step of the set 100%. That helped.

I've also started either tossing a treat or asking for an unrelated behavior (like touch) to get him on his feet between exercises. What I'm really loving is that, not only does the protocol seem to be helping him relax, but he's now racing back to me in anticipation of another cue. It's a two-fer!

Tonight we did the second set again, but I'm being more distracting. Instead of just standing quietly for the counts, I wiggle and shift my weight. Instead of lightly jogging in place, I wave my arms around as well. And when I walk half-way around him, I pause behind his back. He broke exactly twice, and the second time was because something heavy fell nearby and startled him (and me)! One more day, then I expect we'll move on to set 3.

*  *  *  *  *

Last night Sadie got to work on her directionals. She finally seems to have the verbal 'right' cue without hand signal support. 'Left' is less strong, but getting better. I've faded the hand signal to a flick of the finger. Also, her turns are getting more accurate. As in, she slams into me much less often. My feet and knees are quite happy about that.

Tonight she got to do some tug-work. When really riled up she will tug a bit, but it's not a behavior she offers on her own. I'm starting it much like you would back-chain a retrieve, simple asking for her to put her mouth on the rope. We worked up to jumping up for it or lifting it a few inches from the ground. However, she will not interact with the toy if I'm not holding it. No matter what. After the kibble was gone she got some leftover steak. That made the grabs more enthusiastic, but she still won't offer duration or independence on the bite.

Maxwell also got some tug work with his remaining kibble and the other half of the steak. He will offer a light bite/hold, so I'm rewarding long holds (over 3 seconds or so) and counter-force to my grip. There is some improvement, but even he is still a long way from being a tug-nut.